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"IRORI", Japanese for the recessed hearth in traditional homes. These open fire pits are surrounded by tatami mats, arranged in auspicious pattern. This modified Log Cabin pattern came from one of my favorite books EAST QUILTS WEST, by Kumiko Sudo. I was able to use the last of my vintage and modern fabrics from Japan mixed with US fabrics that resemble Japanese style prints.
This wedding quilt is for my grandnephew, Adam, age 10.
I am working on quilts for my sister's 7 and my 3 grandchildren. I've been making them now while my health is good and my hands still work. They are stored in breathable bags and marked with each child's name. Each one is meant to be an heirloom therefore I have chosen traditional designs. I know they will be appreciated because each of these children have received multiple quilts from me and they are used, loved and new ones requested as they have grown into their next stage of childhood.
Like the others, this quilt is King size, machine pieced and hand quilted. The border is quilted with pearl cotton in Sashiko style and designs.
I'm more than pleased with my quilt but I'm sorry to be finished. I loved the inventive, creative process of choosing which patterns to use and the tactile feel of hand quilting. Many of the fabrics brought back memories of my trip to Japan, the hospitality of our hosts and being with my sister. The making of this quilt was a memorable journey in its self.
On my trip to Japan with my sister last September, I collected fabrics to make a quilt. You may remember that one of our hosts offered me cuttings from "old clothes" (her aunt's old kimonos). I also bought old indigo cottons in antique shops plus some new contemporary prints. On a previous trip I had also bought some remnants that are probably rayon. I decided that I would go ahead and mix the cottons with the possible silks and rayons since this quilt would seldom need cleaning.
The fun part of designing a quilt is using what you have on hand to its best advantage and putting together all the various sizes, like solving a puzzle. The finished size turned out to be 58"x80".
It's now ready for hand quilting in traditional patterns and sashiko. The 60" denim blue Chambray was the perfect color and width for the backing.
I just returned from a trip to Japan with my sister. Our love of all things Japanese was instilled at an early age by our father. He had spent a month in Japan as a aviation adviser during the Korean War. I found a small group tour focusing on ceramics for 2 weeks, staying in Japanese Inns, visiting artists and their studios and traveling in the countryside. It was the perfect tour for my sister, Director/Curator of the American Museum of Ceramic Art and gave me a chance to travel with my best friend.
Although most of our time was spent looking at clay, 
we also experienced the culture, were guests in homes,
ate the food,
played with clay,
slept on the "floor",
bathed communally, and rode on the fast trains. I also got to shop for old fabrics
and our hostess invited me to cut a stack of fabrics from some "old clothes" (her great aunt's kimonos).
I promised to make her a wall hanging which is in the works.
I've been busy cutting and arranging. I revisited YOKO Japanese Antique and Fabrics shop in South Pasadena that was still there after 5 years. I bought some more vintage fabrics: the red and pink dragonflies, blue crosshatching on white, red/pink flowers on white, and white flowers on navy. I really feel like the design has a balanced look. I still have some half blocks to cut but I'm ready to start hand piecing them together. Next week we are visiting our good friends in Cave Creek Arizona and this will be prefect to take along.
Well, I just started to cut. I got out my design wall (flannel backed tablecloth) and rigged a way to hang it over the bookcase. Oh to have a space just for quilting. Nothing is balanced yet but I can see what colors and patterns stand out. More to come.
Here's my collection for a project that's in the planning stages. The center fabrics are from Japan, some I purchased there and others I found in an antique shop in South Pasadena. What a find! The fiber content is undetermined but hopefully they are not rayon because they feel like cotton. The outer layer are some US prints with a Japanese flavor, purchased with that in mind.
I'm thinking of following the octagon pattern on the header of Quiltsalott. Janet lives in Australia. She told me that the pattern came from Australian Quilting Companion but even with her help I was unable to locate the pattern on line nor purchase the back issue. I enlarged her hexagon quilt, calculated the scale and made the templates. Now all that is left is the courage to cut into these wonderful fabrics and start.
Yae is a very special lady in my life. At age 80+ she still works as an aide at my school and is respectfully called Grandma by the students. Over the 20 years at South Pointe Middle School, I was blessed to have Yae worked with me at various times. Yae survived internment camp during WWII without bitterness, recovered from brain injury due to a fall, and continues to work daily with kids at risk. I designed and made this quilt with love and admiration for the person she is.
My design was base on "Diane's Garden" , a "stained glass" look achieved by fusing colorful pieces of fabric onto a black fabric background. I used Lite Steam-A-Seam2 to apply crest appliques to background, a double stick fusible web sandwiched between transparent papers. Applique design is 1) traced in reverse on paper liner 2) second paper liner is removed, 3) web side is ironed to wrong side of fabric, 4) design is cut out, 5) remaining paper liner is removed, 6) fabric cut-out is ironed to background fabric, 7) edge is machine appliqued using a blind hem stitch or zigzag.
Mons are Japanese family crests handed down from generation to generation through the female members of a family. I found these in books and online although I had to redesign them to minimize the number of parts and increase connections. After Yae received the quilt, she told me that her family has a crest. I wish I had know this ahead of time and could have used it too.
The day I decided to give Yae her gift turned out to be the one year anniversary of her husband's death. I didn't intend to cause her grief but unintentionally she said I made a sad day better.
